The left-back recently spent three months on the sidelines with damaged ankle ligaments but he has now made a full recovery.

The Irishman was a first-half replacement for Matthew Bates in the Robins' 2-0 home defeat to Derby on Saturday and is now looking to help his team-mates turn around their recent fortunes as they face the prospect of four games in 11 days.

Cunningham told the club's official website: "I want to get back to the level of performance I was showing before my injury. I trained the week before the Derby game but I did feel a bit rusty out there.

"The result was obviously disappointing because we wanted to push on from the win at Sheffield Wednesday.

"We created a few chances but it just didn't go for us. We have to forget about the defeat and move on to what is a big game against Ipswich.

"The Christmas period is always hectic as a footballer with games coming thick and fast, but it will obviously be good for me to get some more game time and hopefully the team will get back to winning ways.

"We need to try and get as many points on the board as possible so we can move away from the relegation zone because we don't want to be there."

Readers' Comments

I

t's wrong to be making a joke out of Bender's name at the expense of gay people. It's the kind of childish, uncivilised thing that Football365 would deride and ridicule if it was another media outlet saying. Why is there a need for jokes like this? Does it make your writers feel like men? F365 might suggest that I 'lighten up', but it is genuinely traumatic for people who have been oppressed all their lives to be the butt of jokes, and to be told...

ou can't blame De Gea for wanting to leave, he has enough to do in front of goal as it is as well as taking on the role of Man Utd's version of Derek Acorah in trying to contact and organise a defence that isn't there.